Oil burner



NM? 22, 1949 c. H. HILLRINGHOUSE OIL BURNER Filed Mar-ma 29, 1947 INVENTOR. CARLHHILLRINGHOUSE Patented Nov. 22, 1949 U N I TE D S TATE S E OIL BURNER Carl H. Hillringhouse, BergenfieId N. J.

AppIication March-ZQ, 19'47, Serial"No. 7385094 2 Claims. v( Cl. 293-191-510) The present invention relates to an oil burner and torch particularly designed for outdoor use, adapted to be utilized as a weed burner, an ejector for insecticides, or the like.

In the conventionally designed blow torches and burners the fluid will leave the nozzle in the form of a concentrated jet which is very desirable where the flame or spray is to be applied to a comparatively small and well defined area. In order to obtain wider coverage, the spread of the jet may be enlargedas by changing the size of the outlet orifice, yet it must be remembered that any increase in the cross section of the jet will result in a corresponding reduction of the discharge velocity of the fluid. Among the factors determining the lower limit of the velocity are the degree of vacuum to be maintained in the mixing chamber 2? in order to cause the necessary percentage of atomized liquid to be entrained by the air stream, the desired throw or effective operating distance of the apparatus, and (in the case of burners) the ignition speed of the combustible mixture which must be low enough, relative to the said discharge velocity, to insure that the flame will spring up a suitable distance in front of the outlet orifice.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved burner and torch of the type in which an air stream creates a partial vacuum thereby .entraining a liquid in atomized condition, the improvement consisting in this that the resulting mixture is ejected in such a manner as to afford effective coverage of a relatively wide area.

More particularly it isan object of this invention to provide, in an apparatus of'the class described, means for producing a flat, fan-shaped spread of a flame or spray.

With these and other objects in View, which will become more fully apparent hereinafter, the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein a weed burner representing a preferred embodiment has been illustrated. In the drawing:

Fig. i is a complete view of an apparatus according to the invention, shownpartly inlsection and partly in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the apparatus shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross section through certain parts of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 5, 6 and '7 are respective cross sections taken on lines 55, 6-6, of Fig. 3.

.2 The principal parts of the weed :burner about to be described, shown in :Fig. 1 inoperative .assembly, are the discharge header-spreader llLthe mixing head .I i, and the feeder pipe [2 terminatingin a coupling !3. The coupling 13 connects the pipe :I 2, in a mannerpresently'to be described, with a fuel supply tube I4 having inserted therein afuel control valve .l5'andalso'with an air supply tube l-G having inserted therein an'air control valve ll. In operation-the tube I4 is connected toa source .of fuel (not shown), e. g. kerosene, tube 553 being similarly connected to an air compressor or storage tank.

Referring now more particularlyto Fig. :3, it will be seen "that the coupling 13 comprises an elbow i8 into which is screwedthe fuel supply tube 14 and which also interconnects the pipe 52 and a nipple l9 formingan extension of :the latter. Screwed onto the nipple I9 is an end cap Ellwhich isxprovided with ,ayhole to receive the air tube IS, an air tight rubber washer 2| beingclampedas apacking between the nipple and the cap. It will also be seen that the tube E 6 passes.throughzthepipe lZin coaxial relation- 'ship therewith, projecting beyond the pipe IE to engage a short-cylinder .22 forming partvof the mixing head .3 I.

The cylinder 22 threadedly engages-a tubular member :23 of mainly :hexagcnal cross section =asbest shown in Fig 5. The rounded edges of portion of shell member 3!, portions '38 and 32 as well as-cap '28 being of hexagonal cross section to facilitate the assembly-ofthese-parts.

The feeder pipe l2 which, it will be remembered, is connected by way of elbow l8 to the fuel :supply tube l4, opens into a fuel chamber 33 enclosed by the shell 3!. The chamber 33 "communicates by way of two longitudinal bores 34,.

provided in the member 3|, and an annular groove 35 with the six longitudinal channels 36 which exist between the insert 24 and the tube 23 by virtue of the hexagonal contour of the latter. The channels 36 open into a conical chamber 31 which connects with the bore 25, thus permitting the passage of fuel from the tube M to the mixing chamber 21. Air from the tube 16 is admitted into the mixing chamber by way of the central bore 38 provided in the member 23. The air/fuel ratio may be controlled in the usual manner by means of valves l5 and I! provided for that purpose.

Deviating from conventional designs, the nozzle 28 is provided with an outlet orifice 39 formed as a narrow vertical slot extending almost completely across the front face of that member. This nozzle 39 has a radius as shown in Fig. 3 which is important to its proper functioning. Aligned with this slot 39 is the slot 49 of the spreader H] which is formed by allowing the two vertical side walls 6i and 42 thereof to converge while flaring the other two walls 43 and 44 in an outward direction, the part [0 thus being of generally rectangular configuration. The walls 4| through 44 are secured to a flange 45, provided with air vents 46 as best seen in Figs. 2 and 4. The spreader I0 is fastened onto the head H by sliding the flange 45 over the collar 29, a set screw 47 in the former engaging an annular groove 48 in the latter.

It will be appreciated that, as a result of the aligned slots 39 and 49, the flame will be spread fanwise and will issue forth from the mouth of the apparatus as a relatively thin, wide sheet. Thus it will be apparent that a relatively wide strip, e. g. of ground, may be covered in a single sweep and that, by the same token, an area of any size may be swept with a minimum of parallel strokes. In weed burning I may mount a plurality of the burners, say three or four, in a row on a tractor so as to increase still further the effective range of the equipment. Other contemplated uses of my appratus include the removal of paint by the burning-off process from walls or other surfaces to be repainted, or the spraying of trees with insecticides. The principle of the invention is also applicable to spray guns, air brushes and related atomizing devices.

It should be noted that an additional function of the slot 39 is to efiect an intimate association of the air stream with the liquid, thus bringing about the complete atomization of the latter. This is true because the fluid particles are forced into a sudden change of direction, and because the narrow width of the outlet orifice favors a thorough permeation of one fluid by the other. The width of the slot increases with the size of apparatus and, hence, the volume of fluid to be handled.

While I have described a specific embodiment of my invention, it should be apparent that modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit thereof. Thus the shape of the nozzle may deviate considerably from that shown in the drawing, its slot may be arcuate rather than straight, or the arrangement of the fuel and air supply may be reversed. What I claim as novel, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

1. In a burner of the class described, a mixing device comprising a tubular shell, means for supplying a fluid to said shell, a hollow cylinder extending coaxially Within said shell, means for supplying air under pressure to said cylinder, a tubular extension for said cylinder having a substantially hexagonal cross section, an insert having a cylindrical bore surrounding said extension, the passages formed between said extension and said insert communicating with the interior of said shell, and a nozzle secured to the front end of said insert to form a mixing chamber communicating with said passages and with the interior of said hollow cylinder, said nozzle having an outlet orifice in the form of a relatively narrow slot extending substantially across the entire face thereof.

2. A burner of the character described comprising a central air inlet tube; a nipple of larger cross section threaded upon the forward end of said air inlet tube; a nozzle with a tapered conical nose and an outlet opening of smaller diameter through said nose, said nozzle being threaded into the forward end of said nipple; a fuel intake tube of larger diameter being jacketed coaxially around said central air inlet tube; a fuel chamber of larger diameter being threaded upon the forward end of said fuel inlet jacket, the forward end of said chamber having an outlet of reduced cross section where it surrounds said nipple; a tubular shell being threaded upon the front end .of said fuel chamber, said shell having a smaller diameter bore forward and an inside shoulder between said smaller diameter bore and the rear threaded portion; a second nozzle having a flange at its rear end, said flange being squeezed between the forward end of said fuel chamber and said inside shoulder of said shell, the outside diameter of said second nozzle fits tightly inside the reduced bore of said tubular shell, and the inside bore of said second nozzle fits with a small clearance over said first nozzle and with an enlarged clearance over said conical nose of said first nozzle and a reduced small clearance at the tip of same, and a spreader nozzle having a transverse slot being threaded over said second nozzle.

CARL H. HILLRINGHOUSE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 329,735 Hanna Nov. 3, 1885 640,378 Hammel Jan. 2, 1900 1,008,866 Shaw Nov. 14, 1911 1,143,792 Smith June 22, 1915 1,460,630 Widerwax July 3, 1923 1,554,788 Corwin Sept. 22, 1925 1,572,778 Dougherty Feb. 9, 1926 1,581,078 Mulroy Apr. 13, 1926 1,597,386 Norall Aug. 24, 1926 1,603,906 Corwin Oct. 19, 1926 1,605,177 Diener Nov. 2, 1926 2,018,819 Thompson Oct. 29, 1935 2,029,337 Parker Feb. 4, 1936 2,068,286 Edwards Jan. 19, 1937 2,321,792 Bowie June 15, 1943 12,356,944 Peeps Aug. 29, 1944 

